


Roll to Save from Pre-Wedding Jitters

by rayvyn2k



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: AU since Episode 68, Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Lup forgave Lucretia faster than I would have, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, The rating is for all the cussing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-30
Updated: 2017-07-30
Packaged: 2018-12-09 00:51:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11658183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rayvyn2k/pseuds/rayvyn2k
Summary: Taako's Handfasting day. He's a bit freaked out until Lup talks him down.





	Roll to Save from Pre-Wedding Jitters

**Author's Note:**

> This was meant to be a Taako/Kravitz story, but Lup had other plans. And, for the record, I don't think Lucretia is evil, just misguided.

Lup knocked and opened the door, stuck her head into the room and said in a sing-song tone, "Taako, it's time! Are you ready to bind yourself to the former Grim Reaper?" When the usual acid retort—or the Black Tentacles—didn't materialize, she stepped into the room and looked around. "Taako?"

He didn't appear to be in the room. 

The physical evidence that her brother had recently been there was everywhere. Skirts, pantaloons and trousers littered the room; on the floor, the chairs, the bed. Discarded shawls, belts and stockings hung across the tops of the closet door, the vanity mirror and the lamp. Shoes and boots were tossed into an unceremonious pile at the foot of the bed. Cosmetics, nail polish and a multitude of hair products were piled higgledy-piggledy on the vanity table. The only serenity in the midst of the chaos was an ivory colored silk blouse hanging neatly on a hook on the inside of the closet door. It was a thing of beauty; embroidered around the collar, cuffs and down the front on either side of the iridescent pearl buttons with flowering vines of pale blue, green and yellow. A gift from Lucretia, who had made it especially for Taako's Handfasting ceremony. 

Lup frowned and fought down the familiar inferno of rage that accompanied any thought of Lucretia. In the year since the final battle against the Hunger, the former Director of the Bureau of Balance had, with some success, taken steps to make amends to those she'd wronged. 

Lup was not yet able to forgive her former friend. The years she'd spent alone as a prisoner in the Umbra Staff had tempered her until she had a core of steel. And if she allowed herself to think of the way her twin had suffered during those twelve long years, believing he was alone in the world—abandoned by everyone—trusting no one—she had to remove herself to the solitude of the Teeth for everyone's safety because incandescent, molten fury expanded within her until it detonated into wild magic with devastating results. But, gods, that last year was the worst. It had been the ultimate torture; being aware that the twin brother of her heart was so often in danger and to be so close and so helpless...

Lucretia still had much to answer for. Only Taako and Barry knew the depth of Lup's feelings on the subject.

Thank the gods for Barry. If not for his calming influence and love, Lup would already have destroyed Lucretia in the most painful way she could devise. She had taken it much too easy on Edward, who had only removed Taako's looks. Lucretia had stolen his spirit. That it was unintended collateral damage of her decision was true. But Lucretia had made a conscious decision to disguise everyone's true memories. So the blame for the result was all on her. 

Lup banished those thoughts. Today was supposed to be a day of celebration, not recrimination. And her Healer had warned her that wild magic could be harmful to the baby. She looked around. Taako was in this room, she knew it. They had been able to sense each other's presence since they were children. That meant he was invisible. She cast True Seeing and what the spell revealed had her wrestling with her anger once more.

Taako was in the Ethereal Plane, sitting on the bed with his knees drawn up and his head cradled in his arms; the very picture of despair. Lup took a slow, steadying breath so that when she spoke, her voice was gentle. "Taako, I see you there. Will you return to this plane and talk to me, please?"

"Son of a bitch." Taako muttered. He ended the Etherealness spell, but didn't raise his head. "Go away, Lulu, I want to be alone. I-I have an important decision to make."

Lup knew he only called her by the hated nickname when he was trying to wind her up or push her away. She refused to take the bait. "Well, your Handfasting ceremony is supposed to begin in just a few minutes. I thought all the important decisions had already been made? The caterer, the cake, the flowers...it's all fucking gorgeous, by the way. Because I'm a good, good matron of honor, I came to help you finish getting ready. Instead I find you hiding in the Ethereal plane. Why are you hiding, Taako?" 

"Taako's good in here." His voice was ragged from crying. "And I think that Kravitz will be better off if he doesn't h-hitch himself to a dup-duplicitous ph-phony. I honestly d-don’t know why I al-allowed everything get this f-far."

Lup wailed inside for the fragile, insecure elf that her brother had become after his true memories had been hidden. Taako was quite capable of presenting himself as a confident, even indifferent, individual. The truth was that during their century of wandering, he proved to be fearless and full of bravado, self-confidence and ego. It was understood by everyone that he was then, and remains to this day, one of the most accomplished wizards of this or any age. However, all those years of believing himself to be a loner and a failure, unloved and unlovable, had taken their toll on his mind. 

Another unintended result of Lucretia's machinations. 

When the demons of self-doubt from his fabricated past rose up to torment him, Taako would take himself off--sometimes for days at a time. Which happened with astounding frequency and would have frightened them all to death if it wasn't for Kravitz, who had mastered Scrying and Astral Projection when he worked for the Raven Queen, and so was able to find and go to Taako when a bout of depression seized him. 

Lup knew that Taako was working with a Healer to help him deal with the post-traumatic stress, but his reticent nature and inclination to equivocate meant that his progress was sluggish. Her presence back in the realm of the living helped, but often overwhelmed him. And once she'd become pregnant, her attention turned more often to the forthcoming addition to their family, so she wasn't as available to Taako as she might have been otherwise. One of the many, many reasons she was so thankful for Kravitz, no matter how much she teased her twin about his Mephistophelian partner. 

Lup made her way across the room and climbed onto the bed. She Levitated her brother to her lap, wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close. Taako flung his arms around her, buried his face into her shoulder and wept; great, heaving, broken-hearted sobs. She burbled nonsense into his ear and rocked him until the storm subsided into sniffling and hiccoughs. Lup laid her cheek on top of his head and rubbed her hand in soothing circles on his back. "Feel better?" She murmured.

"The problem is, Lup, I lo-love him." He said into her shoulder. "I love him s-so fucking m-much. That's why I don't think I can go through with the ceremony. I'm trying to be un-unselfish for once in my gods damned life. Kravitz deserves better."

"I understand that you're upset, dearest, but that's the biggest bunch of horseshit I've ever heard you say with your mouth." 

Taako sat up and looked at her, shock written all over his tear-streaked face. "What the fuck, Lup?"

Lup smiled and cupped his cheek with her hand. "Running away from those who love you is so, so selfish, you Dingus. Your problem—well, your biggest problem right now—is that you're just plain ol' scared. Handfasting is a big commitment. Do you remember the morning of my wedding?"

What a day that had been. Even though she had loved Barry for more than a hundred years, when the big day arrived, Lup had been a nervous wreck and had threatened to call the whole thing off. Ironically, Taako (along with Merle, of all people) had convinced her to go through with it. Well, if threatening a bride on her wedding day with Compulsion counted as "convincing". Lup was sure she would have saved against it, but was glad her twin had cared enough about her happiness to threaten to compel her. He'd made her realize what a mistake she was contemplating, and now she and Barry were living in sickeningly sweet marital bliss. 

"It's a good thing I was quick on the draw with that Shield charm against your Magic Missile. But, you have to admit, I rocked the Fairy Lights you hit us with next. Merle just looked like a neon dwarf." Taako's smile was watery but Lup appreciated the effort he'd made.

She laughed. "Yeah, I don't know why that spell lasted so long, but you did rock it." She sobered and looked into his eyes. "I'm going to tell you the same thing you told me that day. You are imminently lovable, Taako. I've got Barry and pretty soon a baby—holy shit—! You have the Gri—er—Kravitz. Damn it, he petitioned the Raven Queen to be released from her service in order to become mortal--just so he could be with you!"

Taako broke eye contact and mumbled. "She had to grant him a favor after the way he helped save the Astral Plane from the Hunger..." 

"He didn't have to ask her, my dude! And, no matter what you think, she certainly did not have to grant his petition. That's not how petitioning deities works, and you know it. Fuck!" Lup huffed, exasperated. 

A flush spread across her brother's cheeks and he had the grace to look abashed. "Yeah, I know. Krav is one in a million, that's for sure. I'm super lucky."

She lifted his chin with her hand so she could look directly into his eyes again. "You're both lucky, Taako. Love like this is rare. And you and I both rolled natural twenties in the love department, my dude." She wiped the smudged mascara on his cheeks away with her thumbs. "Come on. Stop wallowing. Go wash your face. I'll help you finish getting ready. You're gonna need a glamour or two," she teased.

Taako wrinkled his nose. "Shit." He hugged her again before he rose. He paused by the door and said, "Thanks, sis." before he disappeared into the bathroom. 

When she heard the water running, Lup made her way to the window that faced the back garden where the ceremony was going to take place. Kravitz stood in front of the officiant (Merle of course), and the guests. She motioned with a hand to get his attention. He looked up at the window and raised a questioning eyebrow. 

Lup pointed a finger at him and whispered a Message. "Just a case of pre-Handfasting jitters. Nothing to worry about. We'll be down shortly, well, as soon as he finishes getting ready." She watched as Kravitz listened and then his lips moved. A moment later she heard his voice in her mind: "I had a feeling it was something like that. Hachi machi, he's not ready yet? Should I open the bar?" She grinned at her soon to be brother-in-law. Yes, he was going to fit in quite nicely with their family.

A noise behind her caught her attention and Lup turned to see Taako emerge from the bathroom, his face freshly scrubbed. His eyes were still red-rimmed, but a quick glamour spell would fix that. She waved him toward the seat in front of the vanity. 

"C'mon, Dingus. I'll help you fix your hair and make-up."

Taako scoffed as he sat down. "As if you could do it better than I can, Goofus."

Lup smiled. _There he is. I hope he stays awhile._

**Author's Note:**

> This may be the first in a series, as my muse, and my readers, decide.


End file.
